Sam Darnold Is Out With a Hip Injury On The Opening Drive, And One Former Patriot Is Already Making Noise About Drew Lock

Well, the season opener against the Patriots on Wednesday went sideways fast. Our starting quarterback, Sam Darnold, was only on the field for the opening drive before a hip injury knocked him out for the *entire game*. Talk about a gut punch right out of the gate! You’re amped for the first game of the season, and boom, your starting QB is done before you can even settle into your couch.

Lock Steps Up Under Instant Pressure

Darnold’s hip injury is a massive blow to team health and how we’re going to play this early season. With Darnold sidelined, the immediate pressure falls square on Drew Lock’s shoulders. He stepped in after that opening drive, and you know every snap is under a microscope now. This is a huge curveball for Coach Mike Macdonald and Offensive Coordinator Brian Fleury to deal with right away. It’s not just about winning this game, it’s about adapting on the fly and figuring out our rhythm with a new signal-caller leading the charge so early in the schedule.

Halftime Score, Half-Baked Takes

While all that drama was unfolding, New England managed to get ahead 7-0 by halftime. Honestly, that score feels almost secondary to the QB situation right now. But hold up, because former Patriots center David Andrews couldn’t resist getting his digs in. He jumped on X, sarcastically quipping about “the media storm” he expected if the Patriots won. His implied narrative? That they’d *only* won because they were playing Lock. The audacity to already be chirping when our starting QB got knocked out of the season opener! It adds another layer of fire to this early season test for our Hawks, showing us exactly the kind of challenges we’ll face.

So, with Darnold sidelined for the rest of this Wednesday matchup, every eye in the Emerald City is on Drew Lock. This isn’t just about finishing this game; it’s about setting the tone for the entire early season, especially how we handle adversity and player health. Can Lock step up and rally the team? Can our offense, with guys like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, and Cooper Kupp, adapt quickly? The 12s are going to need to bring that energy louder than ever to Lumen Field. We’re in for a wild ride, and this early test shows us what our team is made of.

This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.

Originally reported by Bleacher Report.